Kansas becomes the latest headache for Republicans, with Democrats eyeing a ‘miracle’ in Senate race

Adam Hamilton is asking Kansans to take a leap of faith and do something that hasn’t been done in 94 years: send a Democrat to the US Senate.

He’s captured the attention of Republicans, becoming the latest headache in their quest to maintain their Senate majority.

From the Oval Office, President Donald Trump called Hamilton a “radical left lunatic.” Vice President JD Vance traveled here last week to boost GOP Sen. Roger Marshall and try to tarnish the shine of Hamilton, the pastor of the nation’s largest United Methodist Church whose Democratic candidacy is a new wildcard in the widening Senate battleground map.

“My first thought was, wow, they must be really afraid,” Hamilton said in an interview. “They sent the second most powerful man in the country to Olathe, Kansas, to attack me.”

Less than six weeks before the voting ends in the midterm elections, Republicans are racing to defend Senate seats in deep-red territory , as a growing number of the party’s candidates try to inoculate themselves from political fallout from the Iran war, record-high diesel prices and a sense of economic malaise that has driven Trump’s approval ratings to all-time lows.

Kansas is only the latest example, with Republicans expressing alarm about the race.

“Even in Kansas, some people are not really super big fans of Donald Trump right now,” said Jim Howell, a Republican member of the Sedgwick County Commission in Wichita. “If the president would be so kind as to not give us anything to cringe over today or this week or this month, that would be a step in the right direction.”

Howell, who is also on the November ballot, said some of Trump’s actions have created “collateral damage” and stirred frustration among voters eager for change. He supports Marshall, but when asked about the challenge from Hamilton, he said: “It’s uncomfortably close.”

Hamilton, a fifth-generation Kansan, is making his first bid for elected office. While he has temporarily stopped his weekly sermons at Church of the Resurrection in the Kansas City suburbs, his campaign speeches are sprinkled with Bible verses, including Micah 6:8, which calls on believers “to do justice” and “walk humbly before God and others.”

Keith Myers/Kansas City Star/Tribune News Service/Getty Images

“You don’t even have to be religious to know that you should be living this way,” Hamilton, 62, told a crowd of supporters this week in Lawrence. “But it’s not what we’re seeing in Washington.”

When he embarked on an 18-stop listening tour earlier this year before announcing his Senate bid, his initial plan was to run as an independent. He was he was frustrated by Trump’s conduct and a failure of Congress to defend the Constitution. He said he became convinced an independent candidacy would simply divide those seeking change.

“This is not a Republican or Democrat thing,” Hamilton said. “It’s a human decency thing.”

Yet here in Kansas, where Trump won by 16 points two years ago, Hamilton knows he can’t be successful without winning over a share of Republicans to join a coalition of Democrats and independents.

He has attracted several prominent Republicans to his campaign, including former Gov. Bill Graves, which he hopes creates a permission structure for others to follow suit.

“Adam Hamilton is a breath of fresh air,” Graves told CNN. “My point is to reach out to Republicans and unaffiliated voters and make sure they know in our state it’s OK to cross party lines. It’s okay to vote Democrat in this Senate race.”

Former Democratic Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, who won statewide elections four times in Kansas before serving as health and human services secretary in President Barack Obama’s administration, said overcoming the party’s brand “was always a challenge.” But she said Hamilton benefitted from being a first-time candidate not beholden to “some party ideology.”

“We believe in miracles in Kansas,” Sebelius said, “so Adam is the perfect guy to break this Senate curse.”

Hamilton believes a key challenge is not only convincing enough voters to support him but getting enough Republicans over the mindset of contributing to a potential Democratic majority. He has repeatedly pledged to not support Sen. Chuck Schumer as leader, saying it was time for new blood, and argued his seat would likely not be the “majority-maker.”

“If there’s going to be a Democratic majority, it may very well happen if I’m elected or not,” Hamilton told a group of voters. “Wouldn’t you rather have a moderate Democrat in there working on your behalf?”

Steve Eginoire, a lifelong Republican and longtime friend and member of Hamilton’s church, said he believes many Republicans are weighing that calculation as the fight for a Senate majority intensifies in the final weeks of the midterm election campaign.

“While they would love to see Adam as the senator, they’re equally concerned if Kansas becomes a swing state in the election, they’d rather have John Thune as the leader of the Senate rather than Chuck Schumer, which, by the way, so would I,” Eginoire said. “But I’d rather have Adam Hamilton as my senator.”

Marshall, a doctor who served two terms in the House before being elected to the Senate in 2020, is among the Republican incumbents who have recently began distancing themselves from some policies of the Trump administration.

At a Kansas State Fair debate earlier this month, Marshall was heckled and jeered by a crowd when he talked about gas prices and the Iran war. He was drawn into an even more contentious fray after Trump threatened to ban sales from Bombardier, a Canadian jet manufacturer, which employs more than 1,200 people in Wichita.

Evert Nelson/The Capital-Journal/USA Today Network/Imagn Images

“No more selling Bombardier in the United States,” Trump posted on Truth Social as he escalated his trade war with Canada. “Their products aren’t good enough.”

Marshall suggested the president was misguided and vowed to fight for Kansas workers, saying: “I’m going to fight to keep Bombardier’s over 1,200 Kansas jobs. I’ve already taken that concern inside the Oval Office.”

In conversations with Republican voters and party officials across Kansas, this episode is a leading example of how people believe Trump has created an unnecessary problem for GOP candidates in the state and an opening for Hamilton and other candidates rallying for change.

“I was bothered to my core, honestly,” said Howell, the Republican county commissioner in Sedgwick County. “These are American jobs, right here in Wichita, Kansas. To tear down an industry based on a comment like that, it’s kind of reckless.”

Danedri Herbert, chairwoman of the Kansas Republican Party, acknowledged that economic headwinds were always a challenge for the party in power. But she said close races at this stage of an election cycle were not entirely unusual before.

“We could be a canary in the coal mine,” Herbert said, adding that Republicans needed to pay close attention and be engaged in the November election. “Everyone can use a reminder that midterm elections really matter, even if you’re not electing a president.”

In the closing weeks of the race, Marshall and Republican groups are trying to define Hamilton, with ads describing him as “a woke megachurch CEO” and “too liberal for Kansas.” They are trying to use his religious credentials against him, an argument Vance amplified, saying: “This guy is a guy who uses his pulpit not to lift people up. This is a guy who uses his pulpit not to serve the Lord or to serve his congregants.”

In an interview at a campaign field office in Olathe, Hamilton pulled a small Bible from his back pocket when asked about the criticism.

“Attacking my faith, really?” Hamilton said of Vance and other critics. “I’d love to talk together about our faith and talk about how I live my faith out and how you live your faith out.”

At his campaign stops, Hamilton also makes clear that he believes deeply in the separation of church and state, a question that several voters raised during conversations.

“I’m not going to Washington, DC, to be the chaplain of the Senate. They have one of those already,” Hamilton said. “I’m going to Washington, DC, to fight for the Constitution because it’s under assault right now by what’s happening.”

亚当·汉密尔顿呼吁堪萨斯州人民勇敢地迈出一步，去做一件94年来从未有人做过的事情：将一名民主党人送入美国参议院。

他引起了共和党人的关注，成为他们保住参议院多数席位道路上的最新难题。

唐纳德·特朗普总统在椭圆形办公室称汉密尔顿为“激进的左翼疯子”。副总统JD·万斯上周来到这里，为共和党参议员罗杰·马歇尔助选，并试图抹黑汉密尔顿——这位美国最大的联合卫理公会教堂的牧师，他的民主党候选人身份是不断扩大的参议院选战版图上的一个新的变数。

“我当时的第一反应是，哇，他们肯定很害怕，”汉密尔顿在一次采访中说。“他们竟然派了全国第二有权势的人到堪萨斯州奥拉西市来攻击我。”

距离中期选举投票结束还有不到六周的时间，共和党人正争分夺秒地在深红地区捍卫参议院席位，越来越多的共和党候选人试图让自己免受伊朗战争、创纪录的柴油价格以及导致特朗普支持率跌至历史新低的经济低迷情绪所带来的政治影响。

堪萨斯州只是最新的例子，共和党人对这场选举表示担忧。

“即使在堪萨斯州，现在也有一些人不太喜欢唐纳德·特朗普，”威奇托市塞奇威克县委员会的共和党成员吉姆·豪厄尔说。“如果总统能体谅我们，今天、这周或这个月都不要给我们带来任何令人尴尬的事情，那将是朝着正确方向迈出的一步。”

同样参加11月选举的霍威尔表示，特朗普的一些举措造成了“附带损害”，并激起了渴望变革的选民的沮丧情绪。他支持马歇尔，但当被问及汉密尔顿的挑战时，他说：“选情非常胶着，令人不安。”

汉密尔顿是堪萨斯州第五代居民，这是他首次竞选公职。虽然他暂时停止了在堪萨斯城郊区复活教堂的每周布道，但他的竞选演讲中穿插着圣经经文，包括弥迦书6章8节，该节呼吁信徒“行公义”和“存谦卑的心，在神和人面前行事”。

Keith Myers/堪萨斯城星报/论坛新闻社/盖蒂图片社

“你甚至不需要信教就能明白自己应该这样生活，”62岁的汉密尔顿本周在劳伦斯对一群支持者说。“但这并非我们在华盛顿看到的景象。”

今年早些时候，在宣布竞选参议员之前，他曾进行过一次为期18站的巡回听证会。最初的计划是以独立候选人的身份参选。他对特朗普的行为以及国会未能捍卫宪法感到失望。他说，他最终确信，以独立候选人的身份参选只会分裂那些寻求变革的人。

汉密尔顿说：“这无关共和党或民主党，这是关乎人类道德的问题。”

然而，在堪萨斯州，两年前特朗普以 16 个百分点的优势获胜，汉密尔顿知道，如果他不能争取一部分共和党人加入民主党人和独立人士的联盟，他就不可能取得成功。

他的竞选活动吸引了几位知名的共和党人加入，其中包括前州长比尔·格雷夫斯，他希望这能为其他人效仿创造一个有利条件。

格雷夫斯告诉CNN：“亚当·汉密尔顿让人耳目一新。我的目的是接触共和党人和无党派选民，让他们知道在我们州，跨党派投票是可以的。在这场参议院选举中，投票给民主党人是完全可以的。”

曾在堪萨斯州四次赢得全州选举、后又在奥巴马总统政府担任卫生与公众服务部长的民主党前州长凯瑟琳·西贝柳斯表示，克服党派的固有形象“始终是一个挑战”。但她认为，汉密尔顿的优势在于他作为一名首次参选的候选人，不受“任何党派意识形态”的束缚。

“在堪萨斯州，我们相信奇迹，”塞贝柳斯说，“所以亚当是打破参议院魔咒的完美人选。”

汉密尔顿认为，关键挑战不仅在于说服足够多的选民支持他，还在于改变足够多的共和党人的想法，让他们不再认为共和党会助长民主党获得多数席位。他曾多次承诺不会支持查克·舒默参议员担任党魁，称现在是时候注入新鲜血液了，并表示他的席位不太可能成为“决定多数席位的关键”。

“如果民主党要赢得多数席位，无论我是否当选，这种情况都很有可能发生，”汉密尔顿对一群选民说。“难道你们不想让一位温和的民主党人代表你们的利益吗？”

史蒂夫·埃吉诺尔是一位终身共和党人，也是汉密尔顿多年的朋友和教会成员。他表示，随着中期选举竞选的最后几周参议院多数席位争夺战愈演愈烈，他相信许多共和党人都在权衡这一考量。

“虽然他们很希望亚当当选参议员，但他们也同样担心堪萨斯州如果成为摇摆州，他们宁愿让约翰·图恩而不是查克·舒默担任参议院领袖，顺便说一句，我也是这么想的，”埃吉诺尔说。“但我更希望亚当·汉密尔顿当我的参议员。”

马歇尔是一名医生，在 2020 年当选参议员之前，他曾在众议院任职两届。他是最近开始与特朗普政府的一些政策保持距离的共和党现任议员之一。

本月初在堪萨斯州博览会的一场辩论中，马歇尔在谈到汽油价格和伊朗战争时，遭到观众的嘲讽和喝倒彩。特朗普威胁要禁止向加拿大飞机制造商庞巴迪公司销售产品后，马歇尔被卷入了一场更加激烈的争论。庞巴迪公司在威奇托市雇佣了1200多名员工。

埃弗特·尼尔森/《首都日报》/今日美国网络/Imagn Images

特朗普在Truth Social网站上发帖称：“美国不再销售庞巴迪的产品。他们的产品质量不够好。”与此同时，他升级了与加拿大的贸易战。

马歇尔认为总统的想法是错误的，并誓言要为堪萨斯州的工人争取权益，他说：“我将竭尽全力保住庞巴迪公司在堪萨斯州的1200多个工作岗位。我已经把这个问题带到了椭圆形办公室。”

在与堪萨斯州各地的共和党选民和党内官员的交谈中，这一事件充分体现了人们认为特朗普给该州的共和党候选人制造了一个不必要的麻烦，同时也为汉密尔顿和其他争取变革的候选人创造了机会。

“说实话，我感到非常恼火，”塞奇威克县的共和党县政委员豪厄尔说道。“这些都是美国人的工作机会，就在堪萨斯州威奇托市。仅仅因为这样一番言论就摧毁一个产业，实在是太鲁莽了。”

堪萨斯州共和党主席丹妮德里·赫伯特承认，经济逆风始终是执政党面临的挑战。但她表示，在选举周期的这个阶段出现势均力敌的选情并非完全罕见。

赫伯特说：“我们就像煤矿里的金丝雀”，并补充说，共和党人需要密切关注并积极参与11月的选举。“每个人都需要被提醒，中期选举真的非常重要，即使你不是在选总统。”

在竞选的最后几周，马歇尔和共和党团体试图给汉密尔顿贴上标签，他们的广告将他描述为“觉醒的大型教会首席执行官”和“对堪萨斯州来说太自由派了”。他们试图利用他的宗教背景攻击他，万斯也强化了这种说法，他说：“这家伙利用讲坛不是为了提升人们的精神境界，也不是为了侍奉上帝或服务他的信众。”

在奥拉西竞选办公室接受采访时，当被问及批评意见时，汉密尔顿从后口袋里掏出了一本小圣经。

“真的吗？这是在攻击我的信仰？”汉密尔顿谈到万斯和其他批评者时说道。“我很乐意和大家一起探讨我们的信仰，谈谈我是如何践行我的信仰，以及你们是如何践行你们的信仰的。”

在竞选活动中，汉密尔顿也明确表示，他深信政教分离，这也是几位选民在交谈中提出的问题。

“我去华盛顿特区不是为了当参议院的牧师，他们已经有牧师了，”汉密尔顿说。“我去华盛顿特区是为了捍卫宪法，因为宪法现在正受到当前局势的攻击。”